And then, Aja strove to awake as it were from a dream. And he shook
himself, as if to shake it off, and he said to himself: I feel that I am
falling as it were a victim to the spell of this passionate and subtle
beauty; and now, unless I stiffen and steel myself against her, I shall
undoubtedly be bewitched and beguiled beyond the possibility of escape.
And he summoned his resolution, and said, with a semblance of composure:
Fair one, thou dost thyself no injustice in comparing thyself alone to a
thousand queens: for thou art a very incarnation of all the bewildering
fascination of thy sex. And yet, potent as they are, thy charms are
wasted, and resemble blunted arrows when directed against me. For as I
have already told thee, I am pledged to another, and proof against thy
spell, as doubtless was thy old ascetic against that bevy of straying
queens.
And then Natabhrúkutí smiled, and she shook at him her finger, as she
answered: Rash boy, beware: Be not too sure of the adamantine quality of
thy resistance, nor even of thy wisdom in resisting me at all. And
beware of provoking the indignation of slighted Love, who may make of
thee a signal example of his vengeance. Take care, lest annoyed with thy
obstinacy in rejecting what he offers thee for nothing, he should
deprive thee even of that other beauty on whose account alone it is that
I am held by thee so cheap. Poor youth! but that my lips are tied, I
could enlighten thee. Art thou, who art so ready lightly to disdain me,
art thou, I say, so sure, so very sure, that thou art thyself the only
lover of this much married beauty, whom thou sawest, as thou sayest, for
the very first time in thy life to-day? Art thou so sure, so very sure,
that she is not deceiving thee, and that thou art not merely the last of
the many lovers whom she toys with for a moment, and then carelessly
casts away? Art thou so very certain that thou hast never had a
predecessor? And Aja started, in spite of himself. For the word recalled
to him the manner of the old King. And Natabhrúkutí saw it. And she
looked at him as it were with compassion, and said: Alas! unhappy boy:
thou seest that in thy youth and inexperience such an idea had not
occurred to thee. Little art thou qualified to cope with a woman's
guile.
Then said Aja fiercely, in wrath both with himself and her: It is false,
and she is true. But Natabhrúkutí answered very gently: Be not angry,
for I do not question that she loves thee. I do not even doubt it: for
if she did not, she would be a fool. But listen, and learn, what thou
dost not seem to know, that Love is a Master Knave; aye! by far the
greatest master of deceit in the three great worlds. And woman is his
aptest pupil, and every woman living, were she even as simple as
thyself, becomes, as soon as she falls under the influence of Love, a
very incarnation of policy and craft and wiles. I tell thee, foolish
boy, that she that loves in earnest, were she good as gold, pure as
snow, and flawless as a diamond, would plunge, to gain her object, to
the very lowest bottom of the ocean of deceit. And what is her object
but the esteem of her lover? Dost thou think, she would balance for an
instant, between her lover, and the ruin of the world? between his good
opinion, and a lie? Dost thou think, she would forfeit thy esteem, when
to deceive thee would preserve it? I tell thee, in such a dilemma, she
would lie, till the very sun at noon hid his face out of shame.
Know[20], that long ago there lived at Wáránasí[21] an independent
lady, of beauty so extraordinary, that swarms of lovers use to buzz
continually about her like great black bees about the mango blossom in
the spring. But independent though she was, she was so fastidious, that
none of her innumerable lovers ever touched her heart even for a moment.
And hence she lived like a lamp at midnight surrounded by the corpses of
her victims, who fluttered about her lustre and perished in its flame.
And then at last, one day it came about that a tall young Rajpoot almost
as beautiful as thou art arrived at Wáránasí. And Kasháyiní[22] (for
that was her name) saw him from a window as he came into the city; and
instantly like an empty pitcher suddenly plunged into the Ganges, she
was filled to the very brim by the inrush of Love's sacred nectar. And
she said to herself: The very first thing that he will hear of in the
city is myself. And like everybody else, he will come immediately to see
me: and that very moment, I shall abandon the body out of shame. For
though my beauty might attract him, yet he will be convinced that many
lovers have preceded him, and therefore, at the bottom of his heart he
will despise me. And this would be worse than any death. And yet without
him, my birth will have been in vain. Therefore, I must devise some
expedient. So after a while, she went out in disguise, and bought for a
large sum of money the body of a woman of her own age and size who had
died that very day. And bringing that body home secretly at night, she
dressed it in her own clothes, and burned it till its identity was
obliterated. And then she set fire to her house, and left it by a back
door, and went away, abandoning all her wealth but the jewels that she
wore, for the sake of her picture in the air[23]. And at that very
moment, the Rajpoot came along, led by some of the townspeople to visit
her, as it were set on fire by the very description of her beauty. And
he looked and saw the flames bursting from her house, as though lit by
himself. And they found the half burned body in the ashes, and
immediately all the lovers of Kasháyiní followed her through the fire of
grief to the other world. But the Rajpoot managed, in spite of
disappointment, to remain alive. And she, in the meantime, having given
everyone the slip, found a false ascetic, and bribed him with jewels,
giving him instructions without letting him know who she was. So that
ascetic went and struck up acquaintance with the Rajpoot, pretending to
be a discoverer of treasure[24]. And he performed incantations, and
after awhile he said to him: Go quickly to Ujjayini; and dig in the
north-east corner of the burning ground outside the city on the very
last day of the dark half of the month of Magha, and thou shalt find a
treasure. Take it, for what is the use of treasure to such a one as me?
Thereupon the Rajpoot, having nothing else to do, went. And Kasháyiní,
having first made sure that the bait had taken, went herself and got
there before him. So when that Rajpoot arrived, he dug exactly as he was
told, and found absolutely nothing. And cursing his destiny, he went out
of the burning ground in the early morning: and as he went along,
suddenly he saw Kasháyiní, who was waiting for him, sitting weeping by
the wayside, under a great _ashwattha_ tree: beautifully dressed,
blazing with jewels, and adorned with saffron and antimony, betel,
indigo, and spangles, flowers, minium, and henna, bangles on ancle and
comb in her hair. And she said to that Rajpoot, who was as utterly
astounded by the sight of her as if she had been water in the desert: O
son of a king, succour one who is utterly without resource. And when he
asked her, what was the matter, she said: I was the only wife of a very
rich merchant, and as we travelled from the South, suddenly we were set
upon by a band of Thags. And after killing every one but me[25], they
all went to sleep, thinking me secure; but in the middle of the night, I
went a little way, and hid myself in a hollow tree. And in the morning,
those villains, after hunting for me in vain, all went away, fearing a
pursuit, and I came out of the tree trembling, and reached this road,
and now I am alone in the world. Then said the Rajpoot to himself: Ha!
so, after all, I have found my treasure, and that excellent ascetic was
a true prophet. And he said: O lady, I am of good family. And now, if
thou wilt have me for a husband, I will supply the loss of thy merchant,
and all the rest of thy relations. And she feigned reluctance: but after
a while, she dried her tears, and consented. But that Rajpoot almost
went out of his mind, so great was his delight. And one day he told her
of Wáránasí, and the burning of Kasháyiní. And she looked at him with
laughing eyes, and said: O my husband, I will make up to thee for the
loss of Kasháyiní: for I am just as beautiful as she.
[20] In all Oriental stories, statements are proved not by
Aristotelian syllogism, but by "instances:" and we are
reminded of the opinion of the artful Retz, that "_one
never persuades anybody, but anybody can insinuate
anything._"
[21] Benáres. The lady in question was one of those Hindoo
Aspasias of whom many similar stories are told.
[22] Which we might translate Aromatic: it includes the
ideas of _red colour_ and _pungent perfume_.
[23] Or, as we say, castle in the air.
[24] A regular trade in medieval India.
[25] Everything in this story is exactly in harmony with
the manners of medieval India. The Thags often preserved a
woman for her beauty, when they murdered every one else.